Lesson No.1

Proudly functioning without a fucking MySpace account since 2004

Saturday, February 27

SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD (UPDATED)

***UPDATE: Disregard that poster up there. GEOFF FARINA, who has fronted great bands like KARATE and GLORYTELLERS, has had a family bereavement and has had to fly back to the States from the UK, where he was touring with CHRIS BROKAW. However, Chris is a trooper from the old school and will still be playing. In Geoff's place - well, not really fulfilling the same role, but making an Interesting Noise on the guitar nonetheless - is THE SPINES, aka Cardiff experimental geezer Chris Eynon. So get involved.***

Not that Lesson No.1 shows exactly occupy the £25-a-ticket bracket of ever-inflating gig admission prices, but here's hoping you have your wallets/change purses/other cash-carrying accessories handy between now and the summer: we have four shows in as many months incoming.

The first is on Saturday 27 March, in association with all-round awesome folks Loose, turning the volume down a little on usual hearing-challenging antics...

Chris Brokaw is, we believe, making his Welsh debut (unless anyone wants to correct us). Veteran of some great and powerful guitar rock bands – Codeine, Come, The New Year, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth’s band - and guest with another ton. His guitar style can alternately be downhome folky and blisteringly electric. He's touring the UK to play’n’plug ‘The Angel’s Message to Me’, his new album with Geoff Farina. Get clicking for some idea of what to expect.

Ratatosk is the ambient/electronica/folk/avant/etc/etc project of Rhodri Viney, who you may know from the bands Right Hand Left Hand and Vito, among others, as well as solo as Broken Leaf/Teflon Monkey. This finds him employing lots of pedals and a musical saw, or has done whenever we’ve seen it at least, and is likely to make you swoon like a fop if you like Matt Elliott, Yann Tiersen, Brian Eno, Eluvium and some other wonky ambienty stuff of that nature. Trust us. And if you don't, then listen here, doofus. Oh yeah, and it's his birthday this weekend so buy him a pint.

The Spines, as mentioned above, is the solo one man/guitar/FX unit project of Chris Eynon, who is a Cardiffian with a past in droney, hypnotically blank musicial entities like Know Point and Hotel X. "Gel with sand in it...Nicely picked out notes, gentle interference, in love." That's a review from when he played for The Joy Collective earlier this year. He has helped us out massively at short notice so be a sport and come see him. He doesn't have a Myspace or anything like that. Neither did The Shaggs. (They do now, though. We just checked.)

As ever, the small print: trundle on down to Buffalo, Windsor Place, Cardiff, from 7.30pm-10.30pm (early start, early finish); it's a mere £5 on the door.